Chapter 2, Part 02: The Feast at Hongmen
Lin Chaoyue had the idea of making a quick getaway.
While hiding like a coward isn't a long-term solution, it's better to wait out this storm and see if Ms. Zhong's anger will subside by then. It's better than walking right into the line of fire now.
However, this road outside the door is the only way out...
Never mind, it's getting dark anyway...
Lin Chaoyue took a deep breath, casually gathered her hair, lightly tapped the rubber band with her teeth to comb it into a high ponytail, and then tiptoed to push open the wooden door.
She moved very quietly, and the people outside were talking and didn't notice her. Xu Zhu even had his back to her.
She almost thought she had it all figured out today.
However, a loud voice immediately brought her back to reality, as she had already embarked on a road trip in western Sichuan.
"no!"
"Don't think you can just get rid of us like that! If you don't let us in..." The moment Lin Xiao spotted Lin Chaoyue, her assistant rushed over, grabbed her wrist, and pulled her away: "Then she can't come in today either! You have to treat all customers equally!"
very good.
There's no escaping it now :)
Lin Chaoyue's anger surged, but before she could lash out, she felt the grip on her wrist being gently pushed away.
Lin Chaoyue initially thought it was Xu Zhu, but upon regaining her senses, she discovered that Xu Zhu was standing nervously opposite her not far away.
Who were the people who arrested her?
Lin Chaoyue only then thought to turn her head to look, but the man had already stepped forward and 'protected' her behind him. At this moment, she could only catch a glimpse of half of his profile and back.
However, with a little attention, it is not difficult to notice that the person has outstanding facial features and a superior physique.
His long eyelashes were slightly curled, his nose was high and straight, and his smooth jawline extended all the way to his slender neck. His body was covered by a meticulously tailored suit, but it still couldn't hide his composure and nobility.
The man had a smile on his face, but it wasn't a genuine smile: "Public figures should be mindful of their public image. It wouldn't be good if they scared others. What do you think, Ms. Lin?"
At first, Lin Chaoyue thought that the "Miss Lin" was referring to her, but when she turned her head and saw the window of the nanny van next to her rolled down, she realized that the "artist" that Xu Zhu was talking about was actually Lin Xiao.
She recognized her.
Li Cong's family is in the entertainment industry, and they often mention this person.
She is a top-tier actress in China with powerful backers. She once spent a fortune to advertise on the Times Square billboard in New York for a whole month. She holds more than forty endorsements and is the most commercially valuable female artist in the industry.
But what is she doing here?
Lin Xiao smiled slightly inside the car: "Attorney Pei, your schedule is difficult to book, and Attorney Zhao is unwilling to give me your contact information, so I have no other choice but to resort to this."
It turns out they weren't there for a meal, but to find someone.
However, this method of finding people is really not very elegant.
Lin Chaoyue's hand ached from being pulled so hard. Looking down, she saw two deep red marks on it. "This assistant must have been a weightlifter, he's so strong," Lin Chaoyue thought, pursing her lips.
The man noticed her subtle movements.
He didn't speak immediately, but turned around and glanced at her: "Does it hurt? Should I take you to see a doctor?"
"ah?"
Lin Xiao was shrewd; as the man spoke, she had already instructed her assistant to bring out a top-of-the-line orange gift box and present it to Lin Chaoyue.
Lin Xiao: "I'm so sorry, my assistant is young and often doesn't know what's good for her. I hope you won't mind, Lawyer Pei. I just wonder if you would be so kind as to join me for dinner today?"
The apology was naturally not directed at Lin Chaoyue, but she was preoccupied with gossiping about the relationship between the man and woman in front of her and didn't take it to heart.
Pei Shuwen remained a gentleman, but his attitude was inevitably distant: "I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint Miss Lin today. How about we reschedule?"
They wouldn't give up until they saw the person.
Now that they've seen him, how could they easily let him go?
The atmosphere became somewhat tense for a moment.
Lin Chaoyue was still jet-lagged, and everyone was silent. She stood there for a while and then started to feel sleepy.
"Do you have paper and pen?" Pei Shuwen suddenly asked. Lin Chaoyue was halfway through her yawn when she belatedly realized that he was talking to her.
"Oh, yes." She rummaged through her bag, which contained a pen and sticky notes.
As she handed it over, her fingers accidentally touched his cold fingertips, and she immediately snapped back to reality.
She looked over and saw the man writing. He supported himself with his palm, the pen tip was strong, and the ink quickly flowed across the paper. After writing a string of names and numbers, he finally stopped writing.
The one with writing on it was given to Lin Xiao.
The stack of rubbings that had been made returned to her hands.
Lin Chaoyue didn't listen carefully to what they said after that.
She was momentarily lost in thought as she looked at the flamboyant, dragon-and-phoenix-like marks on the paper.
This handwriting?
Deep in my memory, the refined face of the man beside me is gradually overlapping with the blurry image of the flamboyant young man in my memory.
It turned out that the funeral her aunt had taken her to that year was for Pei Shuwen's mother.
There were only a handful of mourners. The boy wrote down everyone's names, and near the end, he got into a fight with his biological father. He was slapped twice before the farce finally ended.
He had asked her name back then, and it was the first time she, as a young girl, had ever seen the name 'Lin Chaoyue' written like that.
"Lin Chaoyue".
"Oh, is something the matter?"
"Aunt Zhong and Uncle Lin are waiting for you inside. Assistant Xu and I will be there later. We've met before, do we need to introduce ourselves?"
"No, no. I remember you too."
Lin Chaoyue spoke too quickly, causing the man to raise an eyebrow in surprise.
Lin Chaoyue's heart skipped a beat, and she decisively swallowed the last sentence, "I remember you're good at fighting." Her escape attempt failed, and she slunk back inside.
The carved wooden door outside Caihe Pavilion was ajar. Occasionally, a gentle breeze would blow through at night, carrying the faint and lingering fragrance of incense from inside.
Lin Chaoyue stood on the cobblestone pavement outside the door, feeling uneasy.
But at this point, there's no escaping it.
Besides, she arrived first, and Pei Shuwen and Assistant Xu would probably be here soon too.
We can't just stand here like idiots and wait for them to come together.
She took a deep breath, pushed open the wooden door and went inside. Behind the screen, she could vaguely hear people talking and laughing.
Having probably heard the commotion outside, someone inside got up and came over.
Lin Chaoyue's nervousness reached its peak at this moment.
It seems that no matter how old they are, children who have made mistakes are afraid to meet their parents.
Her steps became noticeably smaller...
"Yue'er, you've arrived? Are you tired after walking for so long? Come in and sit down. Today, Uncle Chen has prepared your favorite osmanthus-flavored sweet rice balls."
Upon seeing that it was Uncle Chen, Lin Chaoyue's nervousness visibly subsided. She smiled sweetly and replied, "Thank you, Uncle Chen."
Uncle Chen is my aunt's friend; he practically watched her grow up.
Chen Boyu hadn't seen Lin Chaoyue for a long time, and looked her up and down carefully: "Our Yue'er has become even more beautiful, she's grown into a young lady. This time when you come back to China, don't go out again. What's so good about the outside world? Listen to Uncle Chen, we'll stay in Ningcheng from now on. Whenever you want to eat something, just come to Uncle Chen's place, and we'll make whatever you want to eat."
It has to be said that after eating white food for several years, Uncle Chen's words were quite tempting, but she hadn't gotten past her parents yet, and Lin Chaoyue's mind was still on edge.
Lin Chaoyue peeked behind the screen and asked softly, "Where are my parents?"
Who knew this room was completely uninsulated?
She had already lowered her voice to a very low level, but the people in the private room inside still heard her.
"You're all here, why aren't you coming in? Uncle Chen got up to greet you, isn't that enough? Do you need everyone else to invite you in?" Zhong Ling's words were calm yet stern.
Lin Chaoyue thought to herself, "Today really is a 'Feast at Hongmen'."
Although Ms. Zhong is usually assertive, she is gentle yet firm towards her only daughter and rarely shows this kind of attitude.
He's quite angry with her right now.
Chen Boyu felt that it was normal for a child of this age to make a few mistakes, and quickly tried to smooth things over: "You've been outside alone for so long, your parents must be worried about you. Come on in, your Grandpa Fang is here today too."
Grandpa Fang?
Lin Chaoyue obviously didn't immediately recall who this 'Grandpa Fang' was.
But she understood when she heard the second half of Uncle Chen's sentence.
"Your grandfather's grandson lived in the same courtyard as you when he was a child. He's here today too. You might even recognize him when you meet him later."
After saying that, Chen Boyu's face lit up with joy, and his gaze passed over Lin Chaoyue and landed behind her: "Look, speak of the devil and he appears, Yue'er, do you still recognize him?"
Lin Chaoyue also turned around to look.
As she expected, the person who arrived was Pei Shuwen.
Unlike his outgoing aura when he was outside, he was now more reserved, with a gentle gaze. If he were wearing casual clothes instead of a suit, he would really look like a friendly older brother next door.
She looked him over, and then her gaze unexpectedly met his.
His eyes were as calm and clear as still water, but her reflection made her look somewhat uneasy.
Lin Chaoyue's heart started racing for no reason, and then she looked away rather awkwardly.
Pei Shuwen heard Uncle Chen's words and explained, "We just met at the door and have already gotten to know each other. The guests blocking the way outside have left, so it won't affect our dinner tonight."
Chen Boyu clapped his hands with a smile: "That's great, but it's a pity that you and Yue'er missed the tea before dinner tonight. Next time you two come over alone, I recently acquired a batch of fine white tea, and I'll let you try it then."
Uncle Chen seemed to be quite familiar with Pei Shuwen. As they talked, the group went into the private room inside.
Lin Chaoyue was interrupted for a moment, which actually made her less nervous, and she even had the mood to look around.
Outside the private room was a jade screen, but inside it was entirely constructed of solid wood. The summer evenings in Ningcheng were not hot. The hinged windows were open, and the gauze curtains were made of mulberry silk. On the round table inside the room was a transparent fish tank containing live fish, and in the middle of the room, on the green lotus leaves, there was still an unburnt incense lamp.
Having lived abroad for a long time, Lin Chaoyue found these things novel. But novel as they were, upon hearing Zhong Ling cough lightly, she obediently greeted him.
"Mom and Dad, Grandpa Fang."
Zhong Ling was still angry, but seeing that her daughter had lost weight since the last time she saw her, her attitude softened: "Come sit here, your Uncle Chen has prepared a lot of your favorite dishes today."
Lin Tenghui felt that his daughter's issues were minor matters, but since he had reached a consensus with his wife, he couldn't be too enthusiastic. He simply greeted her by calling her by her nickname.
Of all the people in the house, Pei Shuwen's maternal grandfather paid the most attention to Lin Chaoyue.
After Lin Chaoyue greeted him, he said "good" several times and gave her a gift. Inside the white brocade box was a rare yellow jade bracelet.
"Here, girl, this is for you, it's a gift from Grandpa Fang."
The bracelet looked very valuable, and besides, this was the first time Lin Chaoyue had met this Grandpa Fang, so she quickly declined, saying, "Grandpa Fang, I can't accept your gift."
"It's just a little trinket, why can't you accept it? Take it. I have several grandsons and granddaughters, but none of them are destined to have a granddaughter. My grandson is never home, and even when he comes out for a meal, he's busy with work. I don't know when he'll bring a granddaughter-in-law back. The jewelry is just gathering dust there, so it's better to let it see the light of day."
Pei Shuwen was not surprised by his grandfather's attitude.
He very gentlemanly apologized for leaving midway through the session and then sat down again.
Uncle Chen also sat back down in his seat.
In the end, only Lin Chaoyue was still standing.
With Ms. Zhong's tacit consent, she finally accepted the gift: "Thank you, Grandpa Fang."
"No need to thank me, please sit down."
At these gatherings, the seating arrangements are reserved beforehand. She looked around and found her seat. However, to Lin Chaoyue's surprise, Uncle Chen arranged for her and Pei Shuwen to sit together.
Even the sweet fermented rice balls prepared for her were placed on the side closer to Pei Shuwen, instead of on the side of Ms. Zhong to her right.
In the past, she might have quietly brought the white porcelain bowl over, but considering Ms. Zhong's attitude just now...
After she sat down, she remained obedient and did not move, trying her best to minimize her presence.
But everyone had just heard Pei Shuwen's words, so they assumed that Lin Chaoyue and Pei Shuwen were already very familiar with each other.
Lin Tenghui spoke first: "Yueyue, you and your brother Shuwen are in the same profession. Your brother Shuwen is very capable in the legal field. You should talk to him more and learn from him."
“Yes, chat more, you young people have a lot to talk about,” Uncle Chen agreed.
Finally, even Ms. Zhong and Grandpa Fang nodded in agreement.
What should we talk about?
Let's talk about how she spent her years studying abroad.
She received her law degree one day, and the next day she was scammed...
Lin Chaoyue forced a smile at Pei Shuwen beside her, then quietly lowered her head to eat sweet fermented rice balls to hide her embarrassment.
Fortunately, the adults stopped there and continued the conversation about finance and investment that they had started before Lin Chaoyue came in.
The focus isn't on her, so she's relieved.
Lin Chaoyue breathed a sigh of relief, but just as she was about to relax, she noticed that Pei Shuwen was looking at her very seriously.
In such a short time with him.
Lin Chaoyue noticed that Pei Shuwen's gaze towards her was different each time. Sometimes it was gentlemanly, sometimes calm, and sometimes scrutinizing.
This time it's... an investigation?
What did he want to say? Pei Shuwen didn't know if he was interested in her or if he was just going along with what everyone had just said and wanted to 'chat' with her.
Seeing that she was looking at him, he took the opportunity to ask her some questions related to her studies.
The questions weren't very technical, but they always managed to touch on some key points.
"Law is no easier abroad than it is in China, so why did you choose this major?"
Lin Chaoyue wasn't stupid; she knew that Pei Shuwen wasn't asking about that. Instead, he wanted to know why, out of their family's business background, she had chosen law.
She couldn't very well say that she believed Li Cong's nonsense back then, that she heard this major was easy to graduate from, so she went with him, studied in China for a while, and then went abroad after graduating with her bachelor's degree.
Lin Chaoyue smiled: "I think the law major has better career prospects."
But Pei Shuwen seemed to be just chatting casually, not taking her answer seriously or delving into it further.
Then she changed the subject: "Aunt Zhong told me that you participated in Professor Yellen's off-campus projects before. As far as I know, Professor Yellen has very high requirements for his teams."
"Do you know Professor Yellen?"
Pei Shuwen: "Yes, we worked together on an overseas project before. He is very professional and has his own principles when it comes to law."
Lin Chaoyue was surprised to hear Professor Yellen mentioned again after returning to China. He was her tort law professor, and although she didn't particularly enjoy his classes, she liked this little old man very much. This also made her feel a bit closer to Pei Shuwen, who knew him.
This time, I took the initiative to chat more.
Lin Chaoyue: "Professor Yellen isn't as strict as everyone says. He's just more focused on the law. For a while, he was quite interested in economic crimes in our country. I happened to hear my parents mention some of them. After class, I chatted with him a bit, and he invited me to his law firm to see the cases he'd handled in recent years."
Later, Professor Yellen discovered that she had an excellent memory, remembering even the details of cases she had glanced at, so he lowered the grade requirements and made an exception to call her over to help.
However, Lin Chaoyue did not mention these later points.
She didn't pay much attention to her studies or GPA. She only knew that Professor Yellen was the lecturer for the first-year tort law course. It wasn't until she accidentally joined his off-campus project team and met a group of experts there that she realized she had really hit the jackpot.
It was incredibly lucky.
Pei Shuwen asked thoughtfully, "Are there any cases that interest you? Professor Yellen's projects are usually quite challenging."
Actually, there are such cases, and more than one. For example, there was a case of rape in an escape room in the United States.
A male employee committed a crime against a female employee who was trapped in a confined space and whose physical strength was far inferior to hers. The female employee did not resist at all, but immediately after leaving, she accused the male employee of rape. The male employee denied it, saying that the female employee was willing. With the help of Professor Yellen, the female employee eventually won the case.
This case also caused a great deal of social reaction.
But the adults were still talking about business, so she couldn't just bring up something so explosive.
After thinking for a moment, Lin Chaoyue remembered another case.
It was a transnational real estate transaction, and coincidentally, the defendant in that case was also from Ningcheng. She also participated in some of the closing work for that case, earning a credit, so it left a deep impression on her.
"There is one, the defendant is from Ningcheng..."
Pei Shuwen gestured for her to continue. She spoke casually, occasionally interjecting her own interpretations under Pei Shuwen's guidance.
Pei Shuwen listened more attentively, and even Lin Tenghui and Fang Wanli, who were sitting opposite him, would occasionally glance at him.
But Lin Chaoyue was too engrossed in the moment and didn't notice any of this.
It wasn't until she finished speaking that Pei Shuwen's unexpected question brought her back to her senses.
Pei Shuwen stared intently at Lin Chaoyue for a while, gradually overturning his previous expectations of her, and began to have other plans in mind: "It sounds like you have some understanding of the domestic legal system. What are your thoughts on returning to China to develop your career?"
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